CITY OF

MANHATTAN COMMUNITY BOARD No. 4

330 West 42nd Street, 26th floor New York, NY 10036 tel: 212-736-4536 fax: 212-947-9512 www.ManhattanCB4.org

WALTER MANKOFF Chair

ANTHONY M. BORELLI District Mana ger

April 7, 2005

Councilmember Gale Brewer 250 Broadway, Suite 1744 New York, NY 10007

Re: Street Number Legislation

Dear Councilmember Brewer,

Manhattan Community Board 4 fully supports your proposed amendments to the administrative code of the City of New York (Intro 515) to require that building street numbers also be prominently displayed on a building’s side where there is a principle pedestrian entrance. We agree that the existing law is wanting. It mandates that street numbers be posted only on the self designated front of a building. Your amendments will address that inadequacy by defining “front” to include the building’s side or sides containing a principle entrance or entrances used for daily pedestrian egress.

This is an important safety issue. Posted building numbers on side entrances could greatly assist first responders, such as EMS, fire, and police officers. Repair, service, and delivery personnel, not to mention tourists and City residents, will also profit from a more complete building numeration.

We agree also that an increase in fines for non compliance is called for. The new law would raise the first fine to $250 from $25 and raise the fine for each additional day of non compliance to $50 from $5. Given the great potential benefit to the public the amendment could provide, this increase does not seem too onerous a penalty.

Sincerely,

Walter Mankoff Chair Manhattan Community Board No. 4

Cc: Councilmember Madeline Provenzano, Chair, Committee on Housing and Building Councilmember Mayor Michael Bloomberg C. Virginia Fields

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